Lake Problems a Matter of Life and Death in East Africa

Brandon Sun “Small
World” Column, Sunday, September 7 / 08Zack
Gross

Here
in Manitoba, there is constant concern over the condition of Lake
Winnipeg. Our Lake’s watershed extends as far south and west as
Montana and Alberta, so much that flows into it would seem to be beyond
our control. Within the province, however, conservation
districts, environmental groups and others work with farmers and
consumers to try to stem the tide of agrichemicals, detergents and
animal and human waste that will ultimately severely set back our
fishing and tourism industries.

The problem is at least as great
in a parallel situation in East Africa, where Uganda, Kenya and
Tanzania circle Lake Victoria, the world’s largest tropical lake and
second-largest freshwater lake, named by a British explorer after his
Queen in colonial days 150 years ago. An array of issues have led
to tensions between communities and countries along the lake, in a
situation where local people have lived and farmed near, and harvested,
the lake for many generations and now face the prospect of major loss
of income and food for their families.

One of the big issues is
the building of dams along Lake Victoria to meet the growing demand for
hydro-electric power domestically and for export within the
region. Uganda, with a growing economy and relative peace, is
responsible for two dams that are using much more water than agreed
upon, making the Lake, say U N hydrologists, two feet lower than it
would otherwise be. This, of course, affects the welfare of the
lake’s fish population, and therefore that of the local fishing
population.

Overfishing is another
problem. Demand for fish is growing locally and around the
world. The population surrounding Lake Victoria has grown and is
using more sophisticated equipment to catch fish. Individuals and
communities are no longer the only fishers. Now, fishing industry
factories are opening up to take advantage of the greater worldwide
demand. This has meant, ultimately, the overexploitation of the
fishing grounds, not unlike what has happened in other parts of the
world, including Canada. As catches decline, smaller gauge nets
are being used that contravene conservation regulations leading to
further decline. As well, for their own diet, fishers are forced
to catch smaller and smaller fish, in order to take care of their
families’ needs.

When the Nile Perch was
introduced into the Lake to increase stocks, this fish variety turned
out to a predator toward other local species. As well, with the
lowering of Lake levels, invasive plants such as water hyacinth and
hippo grass have clogged waterways, affecting oxygen levels as well as
the ability to lay nets.

With the advent of
industrial fisheries, what was a relatively co-operative and abundant
fishery has devolved into the rich getting richer and the poor getting
poorer, both in local terms and between the various countries
involved. A subsistence way of life has become a wage culture of
employees and employers. The idea of fair trade fish – where
communities would benefit from fair wages, environmental practices,
indigenous control and a premium going to local education and health
care – has not been seeded as yet in this area. Poverty has led
to crime and piracy on the lake, with hundreds of fishers being jailed
for crossing international borders to find better fishing grounds or
for stealing more modern equipment than their own.

Pollution
in Lake Victoria has also grown rapidly as populations rise and
so-called modern farming and household practices are observed.
There are more people living around the lake, some 30 million, and
smaller, traditional, ecologically-oriented agricultural practices have
given way to larger farms, greater chemical use and more clearing of
land. Today’s homes along the lake are using soaps, plastics and
poor methods of sanitation. Industrial development beyond
fisheries includes breweries, tanneries, abattoirs, mining and pulp and
paper, none of which use safe methods of disposing of waste, but rather
dump it in the lake.

As in Manitoba, where
numerous initiatives are underway to research and act upon the problems
of Lake Winnipeg, governments at all levels in East Africa, and
international institutions such as the United Nations, are active in
considering and dealing with the challenges of Lake Victoria. The
knowledge, financial resources and political and public resolve
necessary to change the situation in East Africa is still
inadequate.

Interestingly, communication
has sprung up between communities on the two Lakes. Tanzanian
rural development specialists who operate out of the Mwanza District,
Tanzania’s second largest city, on the southern shores of Lake Victoria
met several months ago with community leaders and youth in Gimli
Municipality in Manitoba, extending beyond a long relationship with
groups in Brandon and southwestern Manitoba. Information sharing,
twinning and support for grassroots projects related to Lake Victoria’s
environment are sure to follow. This is yet another example of
how, in our small global village, “neighbours” can help one another to
bring about change and prosperity.